Marshall has no regrets about switch

Benji Marshall doesn't regret moving to rugby union and feels his stint in the 15-man code will help him when he returns to the NRL.

Benji Marshall has no regrets about moving to rugby union and feels his stint in the 15-man code will help him when he returns to the NRL.

Marshall believes he will be better for the experience even though he just received just 212 minutes of game time in eight Super Rugby matches for the Blues.

The 29-year-old, who played as a full-back and fly-half for the Auckland-based franchise, insisted that he was not returning to rugby league because of a lack of opportunity at the Blues and actually conceded that he was "just an average rugby player".

Marshall admitted that his switch to union didn't work out as he and Blues boss John Kirwan had hoped.

"My lack of the technical aspects of rugby union was what was letting me down and I felt like I was playing rugby league on a rugby field with 14 other rugby players," Marshall told Fairfax Media.

"But I definitely don't regret it because I have got everything I wanted to get out of it except the performance on the field, which just hasn't worked out the way I wanted it to and I am just an average rugby player.

"I got a fresh start back in New Zealand, got fit, got the motivation, got the hunger and I feel real good and feel fresh."

He admitted, howver, that he had learnt a lot in the eight months with the Blues and was eager to bring that knowledge to the NRL again after instructing his manager Martin Tauber to start negotiations about joining a new club once his release is approved by the New Zealand Rugby Union.

"I had a crack at it and it just didn't work out, but honestly I haven't been this happy for a long time and I feel like I am a better person for being here," added Marshall.

He had a meeting with Kirwan on the weekend where it was suggested he either play the rest of the season in the lower tiers to help prepare him for the 2015 Super Rugby tournament or return to rugby league.

"The decision was not about being frustrated about game time, I love it here," explained Marshall.

"I have probably got a couple of years left in me realistically and I want those to be enjoyable and competitive and at the highest level. I don't really want to go back to club level and have to start again in rugby."